Ancient Mesopotamia Religion

This paper will compare and contrast these two civilizations concerning two of the major elements of society: government and religion. These two areas are important when examining the impact of a particular civilization, because they provide two different perspectives on a particular culture. While the examination of politics allows the power and influence of culture to be understood, the analysis of religion allows the cultural influence of people to be traced. In this paper, the similarities and differences between the governments and religions of Ancient Greece and Rome will be examined, as well as the impact that these civilizations had on one another. Finally, this paper will discuss the impact that these civilizations have had on

Religion in the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia played a significant role in developing and organizing the society. Based on the common belief of the world’s divine creation, both civilizations had regular rituals and ceremonies to honor the supernatural beings. In rituals and ceremonies, the cult was expressed as the manifestation of components that symbolized the divine such as the cult images, temples, and shrines. Since religion was an important aspect in the people’s daily lives, it also had an impact on the ruling system in the two civilizations. Even though Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia have similar foundational beliefs about the cult, different cultic practices imply the difference in the structure and the scope of

Ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians had two different ideas of the afterlife. Ancient Egypt celebrated the afterlife, performing burial rituals such as mummification, and ceremonies to ensure a happy and easy transition into the underworld. Egyption gods did not have as much interference with humans unlike the Mesopotamian Gods. Egyption gods ruled as pharaohs other deities such as Osiris, god of the underworld. Mesopotamian afterlife beliefs were not as joyful as ancient Egyptians. The Mesopotamians afterlife had a gloomier outlook. Most of what we know about Mesopotamian afterlife comes from the epic of Gilgamesh.

Most societies that developed in ancient civilizations were centered around their belief systems. The Egyptians and the Mesopotamians were no different in this sense. Both civilizations were polytheistic and built elaborate temples to praise their gods. Additionally, the leaders in both regions were believed to be related to the gods because of the great power they held and the wealth under their control. However, the Mesopotamians had a pessimistic outlook on life because of the unpredictability of their environment. The Egyptians, on the other hand, had an optimistic outlook because the Nile River inundated their region regularly, which could be predicted by the stars. The similarities and differences in the religions of these two

Mesopotamian and Egyptian religions shared two key similarities: polytheism and priestly authority. The religions in Mesopotamia and

It is undeniable that the natural environment of ancient Mesopotamia had a profound effect on the earliest civilizations known to the world. Humankind’s ability to control irrigation waters directly correlates with the rise of mass agriculture. With this mastery of their river environment, early farmers were capable of supporting large urban populations. However, in Mesopotamia the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were both a source of life as well as destruction for early societies. In many ways, the geography of ancient Mesopotamia fostered a sense of catastrophic determinism within the Sumerians, Akkadians, and Babylonians. The scarcity of resources as well as the untamable nature of their deluge environment led these early people to

The world of the ancient Near East believed in a creator deity as member within a plethora of deities; that is, there was no supreme being. Within this plethora, each deity held a specific responsibility, representing such matters as order, justice, love, and truth, to name but a few. Among ANE inhabitants, according to Philip J. Nel, “a normative principle of justice was maintained as part and parcel of the created universe. The human life-world and the order of nature were seen as inextricable entwined.” It is not surprising, therefore, how ancient civilizations understood justice to be a concomitant attribute of a deity within a pantheon of deities; a pantheon where members had origins and, in most instances, were familial in nature. According to their understanding of creation, ancient civilizations held views on social and economic justice as a means that would “facilitate the service of the community to the divine world.” Nel observes that, “The principle of justice was . . . not so much regarded as a system of moral order, but rather the assumption of an existing/created autonomous design/order which should be upheld and adhered to in all sectors of society.” The Sumerians, and the Egyptians, serve as examples.

For the Mesopotamians view of the afterlife was not always a good thing. Mesopotamians did not live a long life they would die at a young age due to the sickness that thee had back then. Mesopotamia is a place that the Mesopotamians believed to be between two rivers. Mesopotamia first got started through a poems and myths that the ancestors told. They also believed that everything has a personality. The Mesopotamians believed that the afterlife death was a descent of the underworld believed to be ruled by the god Nergal. They lived bad lives and their idea about the afterlife resemble the hardness that they will have to face during their present life. They will ¨wasted no times¨ preparing for the afterlife. This is what usually happens to

As civilization has progressed through the ages, many religions have arisen and taken hold around the world, two if the most interesting, being the religious beliefs of the ancient Mesopotamian and the Greeks. These two religions were practiced in different areas and at different times and, therefore, show that religion has played a critical role in every society and civilization. No matter how it is organized or what type of god is worshiped, a society would be nothing without some kind of deity to organize it. In comparing the religious beliefs of the Mesopotamian and the Ancient Greeks religious components highlighted including the style of worship, the temples

From the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations to the Muslim world, antiquity has always been filled with religions of all sorts. These religions helped guide how ancient peoples lived life and came about doing even the most common tasks that people like us do today. Religion impacted the civilizations of the ancient world by greatly influencing how peoples of ancient civilizations acted, how they thought about the world around them, how civilizations were organized and maintained, and how they interacted with civilizations of another religion.

When other components of history are known about this time period, similarities and differences can be seen between Hebraic and Sumerian societies. The prime difference, however, is religion, as it was a huge part of ancient culture. It is important to know this because the Judaism of the Israelites developed into what is now the most controversial religion today: Christianity. Although the same God is worshiped, Christianity arrived after the arrival of Jesus- God’s son- as the name for His followers. The deities of the ancient world and their laws should not be confused, as some religions with the same laws are still followed. The ethics of the ancient world varied depending on location, leaders, and laws. The actions of those high in power affected the actions of their entire city. Three men, Cyrus, Xenophon, and Solon all had different views on how to reform society, all differing in morality.

The importance that religion played in the society of Uruk is that the gods had the most power which

During ancient Mesopotamia, political governance and religion were closely intertwined. As mentioned in the Inscription of Dadusha: “Adad, give Dadusha, the prince who reveres you, a strong weapon that binds his enemy, everlasting life, years of wealth and affluence as a gift! So that the land will always and forever keep on instructing my words of praise, that the old tells the young of my heroic [deeds], for this purpose I had a stele inscribed with an eternal name.” Despite being a religious leader, a king’s deification and interpretation of the gods’ commands may have been part of a strategy to consolidate and legitimize their power and position. In the Inscription of Dadusha, king of Eshnunna, Dadusha claims: “Anum and Enlil with a magnificent order instructed me in a lordly way to execute kingship over the universe forever and govern the totality of the peoples” Seeing as the king’s power stems from a higher power, and whose actions attempt to appease the deities, no matter what the king does the people may see it as serving god’s

Historian Jean Bottero, who is one of the most knowledgeable individuals on ancient Mesopotamian religion, believes that “their gods were not viewed mystically, who had to be obeyed and feared as opposed to loved and adored.” The city-states of Mesopotamia also had patron gods or goddesses much like the Poleis of the ancient Greek city-states. Each city would adopt a particular god or goddess who they would pray to and offer sacrifices in order to please them. They looked to all the gods with respect as their rulers but their patron god or goddess was of the utmost importance to please. They believed that all fortune, good or bad, stemmed from the deity that watched over their particular city.

In Mesopotamia the ruling powers were both divine and royal. The Sumerians had a belief that people were created by gods to labor for them. The temple and its land belonged to the god Ningirsu and his wife Baba, and their family. The land owning upper classes included ruling princes and their families, leading priests, and palace officials. The political function was not separated from the religious function for much of Mesopotamia's history. In old Babylonian times a town or a precinct mayor led a group or council of elders. Nobility formed the upper house of elders, and also land-owning commoners met in a popular assembly to make important decisions. Together they managed dealings such as appointing governors, and choosing kings to be temporary military commanders in times of crisis. Eventually there was a separation of the kings from the temple, and the soldiers were kept in the king's palace. The king with his increasing